Two men are in critical condition after a fight erupted into an exchange of gunfire early this morning at a Lawrence gas station.

Deputy Chief Curtis Bigsbee of the Lawrence Police Department said Maurice Bennett, 34, and Wayne Blackman, 25, bumped into each other at about 1 a.m. outside the convenience store of a Thorntons gas station in the 7000 block of Pendleton Pike, near 38th Street and Shadeland Avenue. More than 20 shots were fired.

"There was an argument, and they started shooting at each other," Bigsbee said.

Bennett and Blackman were taken to Eskenazi Hospital with gunshot wounds to the abdomen and legs, police said.

A woman who tried to break up the fight, Shirley Geralds, 38, was shot in the hand and was taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital in stable condition. Lawrence Police Department spokesman Sgt. Gary Woodruff said Geralds was with Bennett.

As of late this afternoon, investigators had not found a connection between Blackman and Bennett or Geralds.

After the investigation is completed, the case will be turned over to the Marion County prosecutor's office for determination of potential formal charges, Woodruff said.

According to an Indiana Department of Correction database, Bennett was sentenced in 1997 in Marion County to a 30-year sentence for charges, including attempted murder, battery and criminal gang activity. He was released in January 2013, after serving about half of that sentence.

Neither Blackman nor Geralds has served time in state prison, according to the database.

The store will remain closed as the investigation continues, according to a statement from Thorntons.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra,